Blood, Sweat, and Coffee
by Pandaemic
Summary: PENDING TITLE. 20-year old Lelouch Lamperouge works as a talented barista in the affluent city of Malibu. When ghosts of his past catch up, and people he never knew come into his life, how will he take these new changes?
1. Chapter 1

For those living in Malibu, the sudden cold day seemed to suck the life out of the affluent beach city. The beaches were almost barren, and those that were by the ocean were wearing long-sleeved shirts and sweaters. The normally commanding sun was covered by thick, grey clouds, and the cold front that swept across the 27-mile community forced many into their cars or homes. Among the few that traversed the streets, a young raven haired man walked along the waterfront, wool scarf around his neck and face and leather jacket covering his torso. He walked quite calmly with shopping bags in hand, while the few around him tried to bundle themselves against the 34 degree weather. Minutes later he entered a small café called Ashford House. The rarely-used heating system running full blast to warm the small shop to tropical levels.

"Lulu's back!" The owner, Milly Ashford called to the other workers before hugging the lanky raven. After prying his childhood friend off of him and placing the shopping bags full of coffee beans onto the Coconut timber counter, He went inside to change into uniform. Ashford house had a peculiar uniform style, with female employees wearing maid dresses and male employees wearing tailcoats, dress shirts, and a tie. The café was fairly empty, With most of the customers wanting to get out from the unusually cold weather. He stepped out of the change room and took his place at the counter, waiting for coffee orders to come in before preparing them using the large machines around him. As fewer and fewer customers came and went, the four servers working in the café came over to the counter, and struck up conversations between themselves.

"It's really slow today," An orange haired waitress named Shirley stated, staring out at the empty café. Lelouch listened to her talk to another waitress, Karen, before making several cups of hot coffee using a new mix of beans he had created earlier. He poured the rich coffee into several porcelain cups and brought them over on a large platter setting each one down in front of his co-workers. "I came up with this new mix earlier. How does it taste?" He asked them.

"Wow, this is good." The other barista, Rivalz said, taking another sip of the dark drink.

"Tastes a bit sweet, like chocolate." Shirley said. Lelouch smiled when she noticed the small amount of pure cocoa beans he had added to the mix.

"Why aren't you famous or something?" Karen said after tasting it, her red hair tied back into a bun.

"You should market these or something." Nina said. She was a petite, glasses-wearing, green-haired waitress and the one in charge of the accounts at Ashford House. _Always the pragmatist, _Lelouch thought.

"Thanks. I'll try and make more for tomorrow." He thanked all of them and turned around to leave before Milly stopped him, also dressed in the mandatory maid uniform.

"I think we can all agree that our legendary barista, Lelouch, is a genius when it comes to coffee. So next week, I want to hold an event next week, just to thank him. I think I'll do... 'Swimsuit Day'! All employees come here in their beach clothes, and we're going to decorate the whole café!"

All those currently gathered groaned, except for Lelouch who visibly blanched at the thought. It was Nina who spoke up first. "Milly-"

"How many times, Nina, have I said to call me Madam president?" Milly placed her hands on her hips.

"-Madam president. We really can't have another event so soon, especially after the crossdressing one two weeks ago. I'm still trying to crunch numbers on how to recoup the cost of buying so many new uniforms just for that one event!"

"Don't worry about that, Nina." Milly smirked. "I've got just the plan."

* * *

><p>With that she decided to close the day early at 7:00, much earlier than the usual time at 10:00. As the others left the shop Lelouch went up to Milly.<p>

"Umm, what am I going to do about... You know..." He fidgeted.

"Just wear like a baggy sweater and shorts and no one will notice. Besides, you're behind the counter most of the time." She said as the two walked outside and locked the entrance, the clouded sun still high in the late August sky.

He walked to the small, but expensive flat located in a building at the top of a steep hill. Most cars needed four-wheel drive to get up there, so Lelouch simply walked. Still donned in his leather jacket he passed by a few houses, the residents knowing him well enough to waved hi occasionally. By the time he had jogged to the top of the hill, he was sweating despite the cold. The automatic doors slid open as the doorman, a man by the last name of Bradley, waved him through. An elevator ride up 10 floors later, he reached his apartment at the end of a hotel-like hallway.

Swiping his key card to gain access, he quickly locked the door and turned on the lights. The modern-style flat had several screens where he could watch TV or do other activities, several bold red couches in the main room which was separated from the other sections of the open concept flat by two sets of stairs leading to the "pit" where it was located. The full stainless steel kitchen had solid white wallpaper like the rest of the flat, and had a mahogany wood countertop with a raised section acting as a cutting board. The actual main room had a rounded edge, and that was where a massive panoramic window was placed, edging around the pit, giving a 270 degree view of the city below, with the bustling lights looking like fireflies at night.

He stepped out onto the balcony, which was spread around the panoramic window. There were few things on the balcony. A broom, a clothesline , and a small shrine at the left end. A stainless steel box, 2 1/2 feet by 3, was bolted to the wall and railing with one end open so one could see what was kept in it. A picture of a black-haired woman with light amethyst eyes like Lelouch's sat on a railing by the ocean, the waves coming up behind her at the perfect moment to frame her profile. Her black hair flew around her, and she seemed to be looking behind the camera (which she was).

"Hey mom." Lelouch smiled at the picture, the two incense candles burning on each side of the framed image giving off a calming scent to the young man. After a moment Lelouch returned into the flat and headed for his washroom to take a shower. He stripped off his jacket and removed the pair of arm warmers, revealing a pattern of scars running along his wrists.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: God I hate HTML coding.**

"And just so you remember, classes start on Monday Mr. Kuru... Kuur... Kruu..."

"Kururugi." Suzaku corrected the Secretary that had shown him around the campus. He climbed into his Porsche 911 GT1 _Strassenversion_, a street-legal version of the GT1 racing car, and quickly started up the engine. He threw his papers and student information materials onto the passenger seat before leaving the Seaver College campus. He had felt drained ever since he had left the Greyhound station in Santa Monica Yesterday morning. Initially he tried to hail a taxi to Malibu but was sidetracked by a representative of his father's, Genbu Kururugi, CEO of Six Houses Foods. LTD, an international food company mostly involved in producing low cost foods such as instant noodles, T.V. Dinners, etc.

The sharply dressed butler, his old caretaker Taizo Kirihara, had been awaiting Suzaku and presented to him a brand new Porsche GT1 and an advance allowance of $15,000, to be used over the next six months. Suzaku had immediately hopped into the sports car, and after giving a quick "thank you" to Kirihara, had sped down the nearest interstate highway towards Malibu and his future place of education for the next 4 years.

* * *

><p>That was the day before. After staying in a cheap motel for the rest of the day and having only slept for about 5 hours that night, Suzaku woke up at around 7 AM and spent a 3 hour long interview regarding his credentials and application papers, as well as living arrangements, food plans, and work, and was taken for a 4 hour long tour around the campus after that. Now he was drained and tired. He drove down the waterfront, the rhythmic rumbling of the car engine and the sight of the endless ocean threatening to pull him into the dark abyss of sleep. He continued driving, but stopped at a coffeehouse at an intersection, a small but welcoming place called Ashford House.<p>

After parking the expensive car alongside other expensive cars, Suzaku stumbled out and entered the café. Almost immediately after he walked in his nose was assaulted by the smell of coffee, some rich, others strong, but the unmistakeable scent of liquid alertness returned a small measure of energy to him. While it seemed to simply be a small, decently successful café on the outside, inside the entire place was a hive of activity. The dark wood tables and quirky maid and butler uniforms added a sort of appeal to its customers, and Suzaku was a bit overwhelmed at first. After being shown to a table in a corner of the Café, he was given two menus, one a thin booklet with food and corresponding pictures, and another one twice its size and thickness, with beverage choices that ranged from beers to Café Americanos.

"Hello, sir, welcome to Ashford House. I'll be your waitress, Nina. Can i take your order?" He turned to face the petite waitress, who had to yell over the bustling afternoon crowd for him to even here.

"Yes, uh.., Can I get a pulled pork swiss on rye and uh... I'm not really sure what coffee to get." He looked up expectantly and was surprised when Nina walked over to where he was and pointed out something near the "Barista Special" section. "try the Macchiato Mocha Latte with the New Mix and a caramel shot. It's something new our genius baristas came up with." Suzaku nodded his consent, not really sure what a Macchiato was in the first place.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, behind the counter, said baristas ran around the tight space of their "brewing zone", measuring out exact shots of different things and deftly pouring them into an array of porcelain cups, each individual one a different order from the rest. They moved like a graceful assembly line in the middle of the café, moving cups to coffee machines to a large table with order tags all over it, before individually addressing each one. Shots of espresso and steamed milk were poured, spices added, condensed milk and tea were added to some. Finally once all was done Lelouch came over with a pitcher of steamed milk and began making intricate designs of latte art, snowflakes, leaves, flowers, even a few hearts, and rang the bell for the waitresses to begin taking the batch of drinks to the clapping and cheering customers around them.<p>

"Phew." Rivalz wiped away sweat from his brow, breathing heavily due to the packed room, physical stress of running around making a show out of preparing coffee, and the 5 constantly running coffee machines situated around them with enough gaps for the clientele to see how they worked.

"The next batch won't start for a minute or so, take a break Rivalz." Lelouch said to the wiped barista before reading the small number of order tags that began filing the countertop.

"New Mix macchiato with a caramel shot." Lelouch muttered. He had prepared a lot of the new mix last night and in the morning before starting his shift, but as word began to spread about the tightly packed community of 13,000 in Malibu, the New Mix began to be gobbled up by avid fans of his work as well as a few visitors from out of town.

Deciding to make the drink quickly before the next batch, Lelouch poured another batch of his new mix into a coffee filter before placing it in a manual espresso machine and letting the near boiling water flow into the cup below it. After the thick solution of coffee filled about half the cup Lelouch poured in an equal amount of steamed milk and injected a small amount of homemade caramel syrup into the drink through a syringe, his personal way of doing it. After he was finished he drew a heart on the surface of the drink before letting Nina take it over.

Suzaku was just about to start on his sandwich when Nina presented his coffee to him. Suzaku had drank coffee before, and often. He was the heir to a multimillion dollar company and was often overworked in his rising sports career and studies, so staying awake without sleeping was something that was solved by coffee. Even so, he usually got it from the Starbucks down the corner, and it was never as intricate as the drink placed before him. He then noticed the perfect heart drawn on top of the coffee. He raised an eyebrow and looked over to where the baristas had just prepared another batch of drinks, working with such speed that the coffee was still piping hot by the time the batch was finished.

Suzaku looked at the two behind the counter, dressed in tailcoats with both their backs turned to him. The blue haired one suddenly hopped over the counter and ran over to the storage room, leaving Suzaku to contemplate the black-haired one opening up the machine opposite Suzaku and pouring out the dregs into a garbage can tucked under the counter. He seemed familiar to Suzaku to one of his old classmates, and decided to turn around and finish his afternoon snack.

The sandwich was great but it was the coffee that stuck with him for the rest of the day. Superior to any coffee he had tried before, the almost syrupy drink tasted sweet as well as rich, with the taste of chocolate permeating through the caramel shot and steamed milk. He quickly paid the bill and left a generous tip before leaving, marking down the address on his phone so he could come back another time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm kinda breaching the M line here, but please bear with me.**

Lelouch woke up very annoyed and with a bad case of Nocturnal penile tumescence, or as most men his age would call it, Morning Wood. But it wasn't the untimely boner that he was annoyed at. Morning wood was a part of a male's life, and something that had to be gotten over. Nor was it the belly cramps that accompanied it. No, the worst part was that he had slept through the alarm clock, and he was now late for work and cramping.

He limped over to the phone by the couch in his living room, wincing as his stomach clenched painfully, and plopped onto the red leather seat. With much difficulty he leaned over and dialled Milly to call in sick.

"Ashford House, how may I help you?" he heard Shirley's cheery voice on the other end. "It's me," he croaked, "Can I talk to Milly?" he felt another contraction in the pit of his stomach as the phone was passed over to Milly.

"You OK, Lulu?" Milly asked, using her old nickname for him when they were little.

"Yeah, my stomach's just acting up again," he lied, "I'm not gonna come to work today, maybe tomorrow, if I feel better."

"OK then. Should I bring some tea during lunch, maybe a hot water bottle or something?" Milly asked worriedly. She knows me too well, Lelouch thought to himself. "I'll be fine, Milly, don't worry. I'll make it up for you and the others when I get back OK?" he heard her consent before hanging up and walked over to the medicine cabinet, trying to find his painkillers.

"First day of school, and I've already made an enemy of a teacher." Suzaku muttered as he fell back on his bed, his books piled haphazardly on his desk. His small dorm was supposed to be for 2 people, but there were no more rooms with a single vacancy so he got one all to himself.

Earlier that morning, Suzaku had managed to fall asleep during a lecture. Normally that wouldn't have hurt him, professors and lectors had to deal with sleepy students all the time. What really put him Professor Gottwald's bad book was that his head hit the desk when he fell asleep with such force it made a powerful "WHAM!" on impact and drew the attention of the whole lecture hall. Everyone had a good laugh at that and it distracted the class long enough for the bell to ring, angering Gottwald to no small degree. The teal haired man called him down afterwards and gave Suzaku a good 20 minute tongue lashing. On the bright side he had earned himself several fist bumps and pats on the back from his classmates.

Suzaku was about to fall asleep until his next lesson when he heard a set of shrill shrieks come from just under his window. He jolted awake and climbed out the window, too lazy to open and close the door. He dropped beside a group of about 4 girls, all huddled around their phones.

"What's going on?" He asked them, skipping over the fact that they were on the wrong side of the gender-sorted dorms.

"Charles van Britannia is visiting Malibu tomorrow, and one of his stops is going to be this. Very. School!" one of the girls excitedly shrieked, and Suzaku could relate, as his eyes had gone wide at the news. Charles van Britannia was one of, if not the, most well known actors in Hollywood. The 40-year old actor had started out as a stuntman, but eventually began starring in well known action movies, comedies, horror movies , and even a few romance and drama movies as well, essentially becoming the best all-around actor in Hollywood. "What, really?" He asked, exasperated as one of his favourite actors was visiting his University. "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know, something about finding a future school for his kids and buying a new house here or something." Another filled in.

Suzaku left the giggling clique in favour of taking a quick run around campus. He jogged around the campus, taking in the architecture, old and new. He stopped when a group of people waved him over.

"Hey, you're the new kid, Shaun or something." An older student with long blonde hair and a friendly face said to Suzaku, his group following him. "It's Suzaku," he tried to correct.

"Yeah, whatever, Simon. The name's Gino, Gino Weinberg." Gino extended his hand, which Suzaku warily shook, "I was planning on having a party at my house later tonight. you in?" Gino asked. Suzaku saw no reason to refuse the forward upperclassman. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there." He was slightly unnerved by Gino.

"Cool, See you at 8!" Gino said before running off. Suzaku waved back at the retreating figure awkwardly. A woman with light green hair sighed before introducing herself. "Sorry about that. The name's Nonette Enneagram." Suzaku shook her hand as well. "Gino's just a bit... well..."

"Hyperactive?" Suzaku finished.

"Yeah, that's about it." Nonette said, looking off in the direction Gino left. "Well, We'll see you at 8 tonight." Nonette called to the others 10 sitting with them and they walked off after Gino, leaving Suzaku to wonder what had just happened.

It was an hour away from the party when Suzaku realized he had no idea where Gino was having the party. He stopped unpacking the large male kimonos packed in his suitcase, large due to the fact that they were made with thick cloth designed for the cold weather in his hometown of Wakkanai, and therefore useless in the California heat.

"Damn it," He muttered, pacing the room before he received a text. Gino had found Suzaku over Skype and sent his contact information along with the party address.

"Well, that's one problem solved," Suzaku muttered before trying again at finding his western style clothes.

"Who puts an apartment complex on top of a freaking mountain?"Suzaku panted as he neared the address Gino had sent him. After finding out from the locals about the notorious hill and the houses and apartments that dotted the upper section, Suzaku decided walking up was a better idea than trying to force his brand new sports car up the steep hillside. It was a decision he regretted about two-thirds of the way up. Even though he was in top physical condition, he had sprinted up the hill, and was absolutely winded when he came to the top. His dress shirt was soaked in the underarms and the neck. His brown hair was plastered to his forehead, and his skinny jeans began to feel like they were sticking to his skin.

Luciano Bradley was looking at a cooking magazine, something the veteran security guard would never admit to be reading, when the haggard-looking teen showed up in the lobby. He quizzically raised an eyebrow at Suzaku before buzzing him in. Suzaku performed a short bow to the doorman before bolting for the elevator.

Suzaku could hear the low bass of the music from down the hall, and it didn't take long before the brown-haired teen found the source. Inside the penthouse, the music was even louder. About fourty or so young adults were spread around the living room, which was cleared of all obstructions to make an impromptu dance floor, and the kitchen which was boarded off and became a bar. The lights were turned off and in their place were many darker lights that shaded the entire apartment with varying shades of blue, purple, red and green. Suzaku began to walk to the bar when a buzzed Gino suddenly wrapped his arm around Suzaku's shoulders.

"What's up, Sebastian? Glad to see you made it!" Gino yelled over the sound of Taylor Swift's Shake it Off on the sound system. "Yeah..." Suzaku was a bit overwhelmed to try and correct Gino. He had been to high school parties before, being in the football team kind of made it mandatory, but back then it was very crowded, and all of the alcohol was either pilfered or stolen. It was the same here, except for the stolen booze, but the amount of money that was spent on the party greatly differed, and the overall atmosphere of the party was much more relaxed, although how much of it was actually due to legal freedoms was anyone's guess.

"Do you want a beer or something?" Gino interrupted Suzaku's thinking. "Sure." _I'm not driving anyways. _Suzaku thought dryly.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" a group of guys (and a few girls) were crowding around a very drunk Gino, watching him chug water straight from the tap. Suzaku stayed around the outskirts, not really inebriated himself. He stepped outside for some fresh air, noticing the balcony was fairly empty except for some couple in the dark corner of the curved platform making out.

"Never seen your face around before." A tall blonde leaned her back against the railing of the balcony, "The name's Leila. How 'bout you?"

'S-Suzaku," he replied.

Leila smirked and drank a bit from her glass. "Well then, Suzaku. Welcome to Malibu."


End file.
